It’s the end of the year, and Legislators have packed up and left Washington. According to GovTrack.US, the 113th United States Congress was the least productive since 1973. They also set a new record for unpopularity, scoring a 9 percent approval rating in November 2013.

Lawmakers did pass a Veterans Affairs reform bill, and a last minute spending bill to keep the government open through the next fiscal year. They also made steps toward an NSA reform bill, which died in the Senate. However, they punted on big issues like immigration and tax reform.

In a recent article for The Nation, civil rights attorney Chase Madar wrote that recent decisions by grand juries in New York and Missouri to not indict police officers for killing unarmed civilians are “depressingly predictable.”

Northwestern Mutual wants to purchase a nine-acre county-owned park in downtown Milwaukee for $14 million — an offer that has been met with opposition from supporters of the park and county supervisors who think the offer is too low, but also with support from the likes of County Executive Chris Abele.

It’s common to perceive some natural event — like migrations, a first frost or a final snowfall — as “early” or “late.” In fact, tracking cycles of nature is actually part a science that dates back to at least the 19th century, and that has deep roots in Wisconsin.